Happy Halloween from Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia! :)

Thursday night, we dressed Addison and Fischer up and headed out to Boo at the Zoo. It was fun, but very crowded, and unseasonably hot! Addison and Fischer's costumes were pretty warm, so they were pretty hot and tired by the time we left.

They got some treats from the stands set up around the zoo, which they kindly shared with their Daddy and me. :) It only took going to 2 of the stands before they realized they were getting something fun (although they weren't sure what), and started pulling us by our hands over to the stands! It was fun to see them so excited!

Grandpa K was in town, so he went with us. I know Addison and Fischer enjoyed their time with him, and they are loving the light up pumpkins he got for them!

Here are some pictures. The first is the only one I have of Addison with her Princess Leia hair on - she refused to wear it. It was hard to get them to look at the camera for pictures because there was SO much going on!

As I mentioned, we had family pictures taken at Harmon Tree Farm last weekend. We used the same person as we did in June, and I am very pleased with the results! You can see her blog and some of her work at www.nixiemillerphotography.blogspot.com.

I know it's hard to get decent pictures of Addison and Fischer since they are constantly on the move but I feel like Nixie gets some great action shots!

Here are some of our pictures... I'm already looking forward to our next session!

As I mentioned, we bought two potties over the weekend. Yesterday morning, I got them out and let Addison and Fischer sit on them, so they could get used to them, while watching Mickey Mouse.

They both look like little thrones and play "royal tunes" if/when Addison and Fischer actually go. They've already figured out how to make the music play by stepping inside the potty though. Goody!

So, I took the potties away once they started playing with them instead of just sitting on them. Then, when I was changing them for the day, Addison kept saying "pee pee." So I figured, "what the heck?" I put her on the potty, and within 30 seconds, I heard a royal tune play. She actually went! I was a bit shocked, and also very proud. :)  She went one other time yesterday, and as a reward, she got to wash her hands in the sink, with a lot of soap (which she loves!). I think we'll probably have to move to some sort of food as a reward soon.

I hadn't really planned on starting yesterday, and wasn't really prepared for her to actually use the potty! So, we are slowly moving forward with it, I guess...

Anyway, as of today, she has yet to go. She asks a lot, but just won't do it.  I started the day by putting her on the potty every 30 minutes. I know it'll be a work in progress for quite some time, but I guess I can admit I had my hopes up after she went so quickly yesterday that this whole process would be easier than I had imagined. I'm pretty sure that won't be the case though.

It's also already frustrating for Fischer because you can tell he feels left out. I did put him on his potty once, because he seemed so upset that he was left in the other room. I know he isn't ready, so I wasn't surprised that he didn't do anything but play.

So, stay tuned for potty updates - I'm sure a lot of you don't really care, but I do want to write it down so I don't forget!

Enough about that for now!  And before I go, here's a little funny story...Scott taught the kids how to say "how do?!" while shaking hands. They do it more and more now...and hearing their little voices when they say "how do?!" might be one of the cutest things ever.  I laugh everytime I hear it!

Do you get a lot of "free" address labels in the mail from organizations asking for donations? I do! I used to keep some every once in awhile, but would throw the rest away.  Then, I discovered that Addison and Fischer love playing with stickers.... so I figured, why not keep those address labels and add them to their sticker bag!? They go through stickers very fast, so it helps having some to add to their collection.

Yesterday, we had some sticker time. They start out by sticking them on their paper, then they start sticking them on the floor, their feet, their noses, and the windows. Luckily, they all peel off very easily.

We had quite a busy weekend!

Saturday morning, we had family pictures taken! We had them done by the same person that did them in June, and I can't wait to see how they turned out. She definitely has a challenge when taking pictures of our family since Addison and Fischer don't ever hold still. We know they will be mostly "action" shots though! I'll be sure to post some once I have them.

After pictures, we headed to lunch. Then, we headed to Target.... to buy potties. AAH! We are now the proud owners of two little potties. We haven't started using them, but Addison and Fischer did get to "meet" them on Sunday when we took them out of the boxes. I've read that they should become familiar with them before actually having to use them, so we'll probably use this week to do that. We don't really have a plan yet for the training, but buying potties was the first step, so at least we figured that much out! I'm not going to lie - I am completely overwhelmed by the process and have no idea where to start.

We headed home after that for a little bit of rest, then went to Jim and Dianne's to play for a little while. Also, Scott's dad is in town, so we were there waiting on his arrival. We didn't get to visit with him too long that night because I had to get the kids home for dinner, baths and bed. He came over Sunday though and spent a lot of quality time with them, and I know they loved that.

Also, Sunday, I got some much-needed me time! I decided to go to a movie, all by myself. And I loved it. I saw Life As We Know It and it was very good. I think I appreciated it much more than I would have pre-kids. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have gotten the jokes about "Wonder Pets" and "The Wiggles."

It was a fun weekend, but it went by so fast because we stayed so busy! Yesterday, we had gym class, then hung out at home for the rest of the day. It was rainy and gross outside, so Addison and Fischer finger painted and played with some shaving cream, followed by a nice, long bubble bath!

Addison and Fischer are 20 months old today. They are only 4 months away from being 2! I hope these next 4 months go by slower than the past 20 have - I don't know if I'm ready for them to be 2. It seems so old, and they definitely won't be babies anymore. Not that they are babies right now, but since they are still 1, I feel like I can still call them that. They will always be my babies, but you get the point...

They have really started doing some funny things over the past few weeks.  For starters, Addison "talks" all the time now. We don't understand everything she says, but she certainly says a lot. On the way home from the fair, she talked for 40 minutes straight. I caught the words "mama," "dada," "bo," "sassy," "she she" (which I think is what she calls Fischer), "hi," "bye," "meow," and several more. She likes to clap and sing while talking too.

Fischer has become a ball of emotions recently. He has started having fits, but will suddenly snap out of it and give me a big hug and/or kiss. I think he is just passionate and isn't quite sure how to express his feelings yet. We will work through it together though!

We have befriended a white cat that lives down the street. We always stop to say hi when we are out walking, and Addison and Fischer love listening to it meow. Just recently, it actually let me pet it, and was rubbing all over the stroller. Now, if we are in the stroller or the car, they automatically think we are going to visit that cat and start saying "Meow meow? Home?"  Addison even tries to call it by saying "psst." Just yesterday, we walked by and the cat wasn't there and they actually both started crying!

Addison has also started singing her version of the alphabet. I finally realized what she was doing a few days ago. Whenever she sees a bunch of letters, or any of their alphabet books, she starts singing "Eeebe eeebe eeebe." She has also learned the word heavy, and will say "hehbee" when she is carrying a big book or toy around (or a pumpkin, like she did the other night while we were playing outside).

Yesterday, we were outside playing and Addison was holding my hand while we were walking around the yard. (One of their MAJOR differences is that Addison will willingly grab our hands while Fischer throws himself down if we try to hold his hand... we are working on that!). Anyway, I told her to go hold Fischer's hand, so she did. And then she started leading/dragging him around the yard...he didn't seem to mind, and was laughing most of the time. I love that they are interacting more and more each day!

Fischer still says "oct-ta" for please. I have no idea where this came from, and now Addison has started saying it too, even though she can also say "Pwwease." We've been working with Fischer for awhile to get him to say it the correct way. Sometimes I can get him to say the "pa" sound, and the "ease" sound, then I say "Puh-lease" and he says "Oct-ta!" Earlier today though, he said "Peas" so maybe we are on the right track?! We are also working on getting them to say the endings to words... for instance, they say "no" instead of "nose."

I have so many stories that I could share, but will save them for another day. I need to start putting them on here so I don't forget all of the funny things they've done! Sometimes I wish I could video tape everything they do, because it all goes by so fast.

These things, among many others, keep us laughing a lot of the time! Other than that, things are going well. Both are in size 5 diapers now. They both seem to be a little annoyed by the whole diaper thing. Addison tells us all the time now when she has a dirty or wet diaper, even if it isn't really dirty or wet. Addison suddenly started telling us that she had "pee pee" in her diaper on Saturday and hasn't stopped since. It's amazing how these things literally happen overnight!

It's getting hard to get a picture of them together, and you can forget about getting them both to look at the camera while sitting in one spot. Here are a few of my attempts for their 20 month pictures:

Yesterday, we went to the South Carolina State Fair! Our main goals were to eat some yummy food, and go to the petting zoo.

Last year, we took Addison and Fischer to the fair in Charleston. They weren't old enough to eat any of our food though, so they were forced to eat Puffs while watching us eat all of the delicious food. Here they are, watching us eat last year (when Addison was still quite attached to her pacifier!).

This year, however, they had everything we had! Our feast included french fries, bread sticks, chicken, lemonade, potato chips and a slushy. They got to sample a little of everything and seemed to enjoy it. I think they were more into watching all of the people, and Addison especially loved watching the roller coasters...she even said "Oh my" a couple of times as she watched them go by.

Here they are having their first taste of fair food, but they are too busy watching the roller coaster to look at the camera.

They even got to go on the slide this year! Scott took them each down, and they both really liked it.

Then, it was on to the petting zoo, where we got to see this cute baby donkey.

They liked the animals, but they seemed much more excited about washing their hands in the sink when we left the zoo area. At least they like to be clean. :)

And finally, they got 3 new stuffed animals to add to their toy collection - a cat, a cow and a bear.

A great time was had by all! I think next year, Addison and Fischer will be big enough to ride several of the rides (with Scott and I riding with them). I'm already craving more of the delicious french fries.... :)

We went to see Grandma and Grandpa Suttle (my parents) over the weekend. There was no specific reason for the visit, so it was nice to go and have nothing to do.

My parents recently had their back yard fenced in, so we decided to take Bo with us. We are still not sure about leaving him at a kennel by himself since he's used to having Sassy with him.  He started out in the back with Addison and Fischer, and stayed there for all of 30 seconds.

He then made his way to Scott's lap, then my lap, then Scott's lap, then my lap... you get the idea.

Bo did pretty well though, and loved barking at the deer through the fence.

Addison and Fischer loved running around the backyard, and Addison enjoyed looking down from the deck. Fischer's favorite thing had to be collecting acorns!

Saturday morning, the boys went to a nearby hunting and fishing while the girls went to Costco to stock up on a few things. Addison was very happy to have the cart to herself, and loved trying the samples!

Later in the day, we went to the Museum of Life and Science. We took Addison and Fischer there in May but they were much more interested this time. We got to see some animals, and even got to go on a train ride! I think their favorite part was when we took them out of their strollers and let them run!

This is one of my favorite pictures - Addison is walking with Scott and my dad. She had fun when they picked her up to swing her!

  Taking a break from running around...

Waiting on the train. Addison and Fischer just started saying "choo-choo" last week, so it was nice for them to ride an actual train!

Saturday night, they got to take a bath in Grandma and Grandpa's big bathtub, with the jets turned on and everything.

It was a fun, and we look forward to our next visit!

Addison is becoming quite the little mommy.  If Fischer cries, she usually says "uh oh" and walks over to him. Sometimes she will pat his back or rub his head. She'll sometimes even try to give him a hug or a kiss. A couple of weeks ago at our gym class, he fell and was pretty upset. She heard him crying over all of the kids playing, and came running across the room. She was clearly very concerned about it. It was so sweet!!

Tonight, we went out to dinner. We were all walking down the street... I was walking with Addison, and Scott with Fischer. I told Addison she should hold Fischer's hand, so she walked over to him, said "hand" and grabbed it. He kept trying to shake her hand off, but she kept holding it. So, for about 30 seconds, all 4 of us were walking in a line, holding hands. If only I had a picture!

I know they will fight in the future (they already do!) but I also hope that they will always have sweet little moments like these! :)

As I've mentioned, Addison and Fischer have adjusted well to their new nap schedule. We are finally far enough into the transition that we are pretty much finished with the fussy times in the morning when they used to nap. It took them awhile to get used to the fact that they had to stay awake, but all of our extra outside time has definitely helped us out by keeping them distracted.

During the first week, I thought we were getting an added bonus with the change, and that Addison and Fischer were also going to start sleeping later in the mornings. They slept until 7:30 during that first week, instead of getting up at 7 am or earlier. However, since then, they have slowly but surely started getting up earlier and earlier. One morning last week, Addison was up before 5, and this week, Fischer was up at 5:45. That makes for a long day for all of us when we get started that early! This morning, Fischer woke up around 4, but eventually went back to sleep, and slept until 8:00!! That never happens around here. Addison was up at 6:45 though, so no sleeping in for me! We did get to have some snuggle time in the bed though.

This morning also marked another first in their lives. It may not seem like a big deal, but it's still a first! Since Addison was up so early, she was hungry early. She even started putting her hands to her mouth and saying "nana!!!" Clearly, she wanted a banana for breakfast. So, we went ahead and fed her breakfast while Fischer was still asleep. They have never eaten breakfast, or any meal, separately (except for once, when I took Addison to lunch after an appointment)! It felt strange, and reminded me that they will start doing more of their own thing one of these days, and that they won't always get up at the same time or eat breakfast together.

Here is what our new schedule looks like (these times aren't exact, but everything usually happens within 30 minutes of the times listed):

7:00ish - Wake up, Eat breakfast
7:30 - Play time (I eat my breakfast while they are playing)
9:30 - Snack
9:45 - TV time (30 minutes)
10:15 - Play time (usually outside)
11:30 - Come inside and fix lunch
11:45 or 12 - Eat lunch
12:30 - Nap
2:00ish - Wake up, play time
3:30 - Snack
3:45 - Play time (usually outside again), Sometimes another show if they need a break
6:00 - Dinner
6:30 - Play time, Watch Sesame Street (while we clean up from dinner)
7:00 - Baths
7:30 - Bedtime

There is a lot of time to play, but we do different things to break up the blocks. We go on walks, play outside, read, play with play-doh, do stickers, do some other crafty things, run errands, etc...

When I woke up this morning, I realized that South Carolina beating top-ranked Alabama wasn't a dream - it actually happened! It was such a fun game to watch, and I am still so excited.

Addison and Fischer were wearing their lucky outfits, so maybe that helped us out a little.... We went to our local farmer's market yesterday morning, so they got to run around and show off their Gamecock clothes.

Since the game overlapped with our normal dinner time, we ate in front of the TV, which is a special treat in our house! It was a fun! :)

Other than the farmer's market and the game, we spent a lot of the weekend playing. We visited our nearby playground twice, which was fun. Addison and Fischer also got to enjoy a bubble bath, and Bo wanted to join in the fun!